Many directional drilling systems use bent motors (such as a Bent Motor AKO System) to drill along a curved or non-linear path. Users steer such systems by, among other things, controlling the toolface direction of the drill bit at a distal end of a bottom-hole assembly (BHA).
Drillers at a rig monitor and respond to changes in the toolface orientation during directional drilling with a bent motor because torque on the drill string can cause the drilling system to veer off the intended drilling path. Drillers typically adjust weight-on-bit (WOB) via a brake to control rate of penetration (ROP) and torque on the drill string. Increasing WOB generally leads to increased ROP, but can also result in loss of toolface control and, hence, result in a trajectory of the BHA that does not follow the intended drilling path. Thus, the driller may be required to periodically pause drilling and reorient the BHA to maintain the intended drilling trajectory.
Drillers commonly rely on their experience with a given BHA to estimate the maximum WOB that may be applied so as to maximize ROP while maintaining toolface control. If a driller is not familiar with a drill bit or BHA, the drill path, or the formation material or materials being drilled through, then the ability to drill efficiently and accurately along an intended path may be severely impaired. Moreover, if a driller selects an aggressive drill bit and underestimates the effect of the bit on toolface control, then the WOB used to maintain toolface control may slow down a drilling operation, decrease utilization efficiency, and generally increase costs while reducing profitability. Other problems and drawbacks may also exist in the prior art.
Accordingly, tools are needed that assist with overcoming the limitations and drawbacks described above.